Shedding The Past
by Hanalulu17
Summary: Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional. What if, He stayed away. What if, She didn't jump. What if, Charlie made a decision. What if, She made a decision. What if, fate brought Them together. What if, no, not what if. But, the Truth, the Lie.
1. Author Note

To see my comments and notes, check out my bio. 

Oh yeah, I don't own these Twilight characters, but, I do own Nick, Jen, and the other kids at Eureka High, except of course the Cullens and Bella.


	2. Prologue

The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn't matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark.

-Barbara Hall, 1993


	3. Jump Start

"That's it Bella!" Charlie yelled as his fist pounded on the table. I looked up from my mushy cereal to see Charlie's red mad face. I gave him a long tired look then went back to pushing my food around. "Bella, we're moving to California. I can't stand this anymore!" he said shaking his head. I looked back up at him tilting my head curiously. "You're moping around all the time. Lifeless… California will be a great place to live. The residents are supposed to be very nice there. We'll move to another small town. Eureka. I already bought a house." He stopped to look at me. His lips squished together. His eyes turned sad, yet kind. "Bella," he said softy, "listen to me, I think that us living in Forks reminds you of Him." I cringed, He was a forbidden subject. "California will be a nice change."

I remembered that day. It was a turning point. That night I decided that I would change. I would get a life. I would move on… for Charlie. I knew I would never love again. My heart was on the floor, shattered. Being too weak to pick up the pieces. Plus, no one deserved a broken heart. I still had nightmares daily that had haunted me since He left. But, it doesn't bother me now as much.

The move didn't take very long. We didn't have much stuff though. As I got on our flight, I said bye to the old Bella and welcomed the new one.

I took a deep breath. Today was the day. D-day. Shopping day. "Get-A-New-Life-And-Move-Not-Crawl-On," day. I entered 3rd Roqk, and eco friendly make-up store that is very pop… pop… gulp… popular. That was my idea. Become very un-Bella like. That equaled to a couple words: popular, mean, preppy, nosy, gossip, make-up, and clothes. Oh, so, so, much clothes. NO BOYS! The only time I'll date is for social status. I'll change my name. Izzy for Isabella. A mask, for my sorrow.


	4. Purgatory

EPOV: (One year later)

_Edward, you'd better get down here... _Sigh. It was Alice. Everyone was sad now. Except, of course, Rosalie. But, even now she was a little down. Carlisle and Esme had lost a daughter and a son. Alice had lost a best friend. Jasper and Emmet had lost a sister. I had lost my love, the one, beautiful, kind, sweet, innocent, Bella. I could see her now. Through her yellow framed window. Her thin skin, pale, cream like, gleaming. Her soft lips cured into a welcoming smile. A forgiving look. No! Damnit! I promised her I would never go back and I was going to keep that promise. I scolded myself for thinking that she would ever want my back after I broke her heart. _We're not going to be late for our first day of school… _"Coming…" I sighed.


	5. The Truth

BPOV: (Same time as Edward)

BPOV: (Same time as Edward)

Beep! Beep! Bee-Wham! Sigh. I rolled of my bed. Thud! "Oww!" I landed on my butt. I picked out my clothes. My closet was huge. I had things in so many colors. But, none of my shirts were dark blue. Cringe. My hand automatically wrapped around my chest. When I moved, those shirts were burned. Today I was wearing my black skinny jeans from Pac-Sun, my red, black and white Fox shirt with my red American Eagle flats. _To the bathroom. _I thought glumly. I applied my usual make-up. Looking in the mirror the shadow of Bella was there, but it was only a shadow. I had cut my hair. I also highlighted my hair bleach blond. Anything to make me more Izzy like, not longer Bella like. I curled my hair from the base of my high ponytail. I curled my straight bangs too. I had mascara, eye shadow, blush, and some pink lip-gloss on. I looked at my hand. The scar James left reminded me daily of what He did to me. I looked at it every day. It told me why I was doing what I was doing. I took a deep breath. Time to start the façade.


	6. The Lie

I ran, yes I ran, downstairs with a smile plastered to my face. I had gotten much more graceful since my decision. I headed to the kitchen. Charlie was already up. "Hey Dad!" I said rather cheerfully. Lying was much more easier now. He looked up and smiled. "Doing anything today, Izzy?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to Nick's party tonight!" I responded as I poured myself a glass of orange juice and some cereal.

"Oh… okay. I'll see you later then. I gotta go to work. Bye Hon!"

"Bye Dad!" I finished up my breakfast and went outside. I got in my new Eclipse. I dumped my Chevy. It had too many memories. I went to the local Moonbucks for a cup of coffee (Lol Que?). Then I headed off to my school. Eureka High. It was pretty much one big building with some tables, trees and a couple basketball courts outside. Not many kids go here either.

I'm the most popular girl in my school. My 2 best friends are Jen and Nick. Jen was a tall, popular, girl with bleach blond hair with a flawless face. Nick is probably the most popular guy at my school with a tall, lean body, cute blond hair and a freckled face. I get real good grades to please Charlie. Guys are at my hand and foot. I even date some guys here and there. But, it's only for social status.

"Oh my god! Izzy, guess what I heard from Mr. Martin this morning!" Jen said to me as we walked to the school from our cars.

"What?" I asked with as much curiosity I could muster.

"There are some new kids coming today! 5 of them. And here's the weird part, they're all like adopted and are in like pairs except for one of them!" My shattered heart skipped a beat. Could it be them… No! Don't let yourself think that way. I fought the urge to wrap my hands around my chest and squeeze as hard as I could. Jen tilted her head curiously. Answer Izzy answer! "Oh." I responded lamely. Keep up the act! "That is like soo weird!" I added. " Do you know what their names are?" I asked honestly curious now.

"Oh yeah, something like Alice…"

_Slash._

"Emmet,"

_Slash._

"Jasper,"

_Slash._

"Rosalie,"

_Slash._ No, don't say the last name. Don't let it be them.

"And Edmund or something like that." She finished.

"Edward…" I whispered. Each name she said felt like someone had picked up the shards of my heart and cut me with them. Each one bringing back memories of the past. But, when she brought up Edwards name if felt million times worse. Like if the shards from everyone else's names were roughly pulled out of me and went shooting back into me to only be shattered again. "Yeah! Edward, that's right! How'd ya know?" Her words pulled my back from my shocked sad daze. "Lucky guess..." I choked out.

"Does their last names happen to be Cullen?" I had to ask.

"Uh huh, do you know them?" she asked excitedly. I should tell her the truth. That I knew them I mean. Show them that I moved on. Like it didn't affect me at all. Like if it was only a small prick. All part of the Lie. "Yep, I like went to like school with them in Forks. I even dated Edward." I somehow managed to say.

"Oh, that's like so cool!"

"I guess…"

As most popular girl and guy of our school, Nick and I had to "Welcome" the new students. Or, as I like to call it, "Taxonomy." The process of identifying and classifying living things. I already knew that the Cullen's inhuman beauty would get them into the populars. But, their non-social-ness might loose them a few points. Sigh. Nick and I headed over to the school parking lot to wait for them. "So…" Nick trailed off.

"Yeah?"

"You already know them." It was a statement, but it sounded like a question too.

"Yeah." I simply semi-answered.

"I heard you dated one of them too." He mumbled loud enough for me to hear, but still shyly. I didn't want to answer. I knew that Nick liked me and I didn't want to ruin our friendship, Izzy or not. "Yeah…" I whispered hoping he didn't hear.

"Do you still like him?" God, would he just shut up already!

"No, I don't." I replied stiffly.

"Oh, okay!" He said rather cheerfully.

"Soo…" He trailed off again. Sigh. I had enough trouble already. "Yeah." I said impatiently.

"Do you want to go out sometime?" Even though I knew that he like me, it was the first time he had asked. I hesitated. He was really nice, but I didn't want to lead him on. Then it hit me. If I went out with him it would emphasize to Edward that I moved on. That I didn't need his shoulder to lean on anymore. As for Nick, I'll just tell him that it wasn't working. He'd be fine with that. "Yeah, that would be cool!"

"Okay, great! You want to be my date to my party tonight?"

"Sure." I looked up to see the all to familiar silver Volvo slide into a parking slot.

"There they are. Let's go 'Welcome' them," I said as we got up from our seats. We headed over as they got out of the car. I could see Edward's casual disarray of copper brown hair as He got out of the car. Everything around Him blurred. I could only see Him now. His perfect jaw. His smooth, cold lips. His lean, tall build. His head quickly turned towards us. He must of heard Nick's thoughts. I avoided looking at his eyes knowing that I would get lost in them. Nick elbowed my and motioned me to go forward. I snapped out of my all Edward daze. I saw that the whole Cullen clan kids were all looking at us warily. Nick must have noticed because he took my hand and squeezed it. I held on tight. I had to look at His eyes now. I was mesmerized. My hallucinations of Him did Him no good. I fazed back as Nick squeezed my hand again. His eyes moved to me then to Nick then to our tangled hands. Still, I could tell that He didn't quite know who I was yet. We were right in front of Him now. He was up front.

I took a big breath and gave Him a huge smile. There was an awkward silence so I decide to start our "Wonderful" conversation. "O.M.G! Edward, Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Emmet! I can't believe we're going to the same school again! It's so nice to see you guys again!" Edward glanced at Alice then Jasper. He must be wondering who I am. He must be asking Alice to "See" who I am and Jasper to "Find" out what my emotions are right now. As if! I had practice incase this were to happen. For Alice, I kept changing by plans and for Jasper I just had to actually believe that I was feeling those fake thoughts. "Don't you remember me? It's Izzy!"

"Izzy?" He replied looking at me with a what-the-heck look.


	7. Encounter

EPOV: (A bit before)

My hands tightened on the steering wheel. My knuckles even whiter from strain. _God! Edward, calm down! It's not like Bella's going to be there! _My teeth ground together. I didn't want to hear about Her. She was already on my every thought. "Just shut up Alice!" I snapped. Jasper growled protectively and wrapped his arms around Alice. I choked back a sob. Jealousy had spread through me like a wildfire. Jasper and Alice, a perfect couple. Bella and I, broken and gone. Jasper nudged the back of my seat with his foot. I quickly smothered my emotions. We were entering the school premises now. _Hey, check if any of the students know we're coming. _Emmet was in the BMW with Rose. I scanned the thoughts of the students. One caught my attention.

_Izzy Swan._ I cringed. So alike, yet so different. _She is so hot! _Through his eyes I could see that this Izzy had Her brown hair. Yet, she had blond highlights. She had Her eyes too. Yet, they were empty. It was like staring at a clear marble. I sucked in a needless breath. Was She like this now, like this girl? Why was this girl, Izzy, so sad, empty, broken? I have no right. But my curiosity burned. I read her thoughts. Empty, like her eyes. I tried harder. Nothing. I stopped the car abruptly. Alice hissed this time. I started the car. So alike, yet so different I thought again. Memories of Her hurt. It felt like my stone heart was being squeezed. Ha. That shouldn't hurt, right. Well, it does.

They were there to "greet" us or something. We pulled up into the parking slots. They walked towards our car. She was staring at me intently. I looked at her warily. Her "boyfriend" gave her hand a squeeze. Good, we were giving them the right effect. There was an awkward silence. She took a deep breath. I guess she figured we weren't going to say anything. "O.M.G! Edward, Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Emmet! I can't believe we're going to the same school again! It's so nice to see you guys again!" Did we know her? I glanced at Alice. _Who is this girl? _She thought. Everyone else was wondering the same thing. "Don't you remember me? It's Izzy!" I stared at her oddly. "Izzy?" I repeated.


	8. At Sixes and Sevens

BPOV:

Ha. He doesn't even recognize me at all. I'm ashamed. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I'm ashamed Edward. It's only been a year and you already forgot who I am. You guys too." I said in mock horror. I leaned forward, "Come on, you guys can't figure out who I am. With your memory, that's not even possible!" I whispered to Him knowing that the rest of them could hear. I leaned back to see His eyes widen in shock. Nick stuck his hand out. "Hi, I'm Nick!" Everyone except Edward glanced at him quickly to only look back at me. He lowered his hand. "So do you guys want to come to my party tonight?" Nick asked. Rosalie started to speak but He cut in, "Yes, we would love to come." I tilted my head giving Him an innocent look. "Really?" I asked.

He tilted His head to, "Of course, would you expect anything less?"

"Hmm…" I said skeptically. I took my cell out and checked the time. _7:10_. "The bells about to ring. We should head to class." I told Nick.

"Yeah. Bye guys! We'll see you at lunch." Nick replied while he took my hand. I smiled and waved. We turned around and started to walk off. His cold hand grabbed my other hand. Shots of electricity ran up my hands and jolted my heart. I stifled my gasp. "Yes, Edward?" I asked.

"Can I speak to you?" He asked.

"Of course." I replied.

"Alone."

"Sure. I'll catch you later Nick!" He led me to an empty room. He locked the door and turned to me. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Who are you?" He asked with his face blank.

"Oh come on!"

"Who are you?" He repeated.

" That's for me to know and you to… try to find out!" I teased. I went to the door and unlocked it. "See you later!" I barely whispered.

"What did you say?"

"Nice try!" I turned to face him again and smirched. I waved my fingers and left.


	9. Questions

EPOV:

She left the room. Who was she? How does she know about what we are? Do we know her? Why is she so familiar? How much does she know? How come I can't read her mind? All these questions were firing in my head with no answers. I started to walk to my first class. Math. L.A. PE. Social Study. Spanish. My first five classes passed by in a blur. None with Izzy. Lunch came quickly. I walked to the table Alice and Jasper were sitting at. My eyes glanced around the lunchroom. She wasn't there yet. I was at the table now. "What are we going to do?" Alice asked quietly.

"I don't know…"

"She seems trustable, understanding too… in a way." Jasper added uncertainty.

"What do you mean Jazzy?" Alice questioned.

"She isn't quite… clear I guess with her emotions."

"Huh… I don't want to bring another human into this anyway!" I snapped at the end. "Remember what happened last time." I reminded him madly. He winced. _God Edward! You know he blames himself for us leaving Forks! _I winced. "Sorry Jasper. That was very rude of me." I apologized.

"It's all right." He whispered sadly.

"Anyway," _On a happier note,_ "What should we wear to the party tonight?" Alice asked.

"I'm not going!" Rosalie said as she entered the lunchroom with Emmett.

"Rose, we have to find out who this girl is!" I argued.

"Why so curious about the human? Is she going to be another Bella?" she snapped back. I cringed. Was she? Why did she interest me? Did we really know her? But, how could we forget? It's impossible. Who was she?


	10. First Sight

BPOV:

I slipped on midnight blue dress I had just bought. I looked in the mirror. Perfect, I thought. I didn't need to wear perfume nor makeup. He _would_ figure it out tonight. I glanced at my scar on my right hand. Thus, the plan was plotted.

I slid into my Eclipse and drove to Nick's house. He greeted me at the door with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Guilt spread though me like wildfire. I smiled weakly. Only a handful of people were at the party then. We gathered six people; Jen, Alexandra, Mathieu, Jack, Simon, and Sharon. We decided to play Truth or Dare: Spin the Bottle. As we played more people arrived. They still weren't here. The bottle landed on me. Jen started to ask me something when I looked up to the sound of the door closing.

It was there, sitting on the black couch in Nick's house, trying to play a game with seven friends, that I first saw them.


	11. Realization

EPOV:

We had just arrived at the party and were standing at the door. I searched the minds of the partiers trying to find Izzy. I saw her from Jen's view. They were playing some truth or dare game. She had just asked Izzy who her first love was when we entered. Izzy looked up at us as the door closed. "Edward." she whispered. My eyes widened. "What? Speak up Izzy, we can't hear you over this music!" Jen yelled.

"What was the question again?" Izzy yelled back. My held breath came out with a whoosh. "I'll talk to her first." I told my siblings. They nodded and dispersed into the crowds. I walked over to the DJ and requested a slow song so I could talk to her.

I went up to Izzy who was dancing with Nick. I felt an odd burning in my chest. I shook it off quickly. "May I cut in?" I asked. She nodded. We went to the side of the dance floor and she put her arms around my neck as I put my on her waist.

I had been holding my breath nervously. I let it out as we started swaying to the song. I took a deep breath getting ready to ask her multiple questions. It hit me hard. Her smell was overwhelming. La tua cante, I thought bitterly. My eyes darkened to a pitch black. I held my breath again. The taste, the sweetness, the essence of her blood stayed in my mouth. I had to stay though. I had to find out who she was. I guess my heroin is freesia flavored.

She looked up into my eyes with her never ending brown ones. She frowned.

"Maybe we shouldn't stand so close." She stated. My eyes widened again. I was shocked. "Who are you?" I demanded. Her lips pursed and her eyes hardened. She looked away and sighed madly. "This isn't the place. Let's go outside. Plus, looks like you need some fresh air." She responded. I led her to the front porch bench. I took a deep breath of the clean air before her smell diffused.

"I need you tell me who you are. If you know us so well, you should know that I can't let you tell anyone about us. Do you think that we can trust you when you won't even tell us who you are?" I ranted. She put her right hand on my left hand. I looked down at out hands then looked back at her eyes only to double take back to her hand. I lifted it up scrutinizing it. Every second that past ripped at my dead heart. I looked back at her. I overlooked her every feature studying them intensely. Her brown eyes, Her full lips, Her heart shaped face, Her small nose, Her pale complexion, Her thin frame, Her beautiful blush, Her, all of it being Her. She looked into my eyes sadly, so hurt. "Do you really think that I would spill your secret? After all we've been through. Did you really not remember earlier?" She said.

"Bella…"


	12. Agony

BPOV:

He looked up at me. His eyes uncertain at first, then to concentration as He glanced at my mouth, nose, hair etc. He ended at my eyes. If He could cry, He would be sobbing. "Bella…" He whispered. It was antagonizing. He was in pain. Yet, I could do nothing about it. I had made a promise with myself. I would lead Him to believe I was fine without Him. I was not and I knew it.

I scoffed. He looked at me in confusion. The door burst open behind me but His eyes never left mine. I put on an amused face. A mask. I ignored the audience behind me. I knew it was the rest of the Cullen teens. "Well duh," I said sarcastically, "I can't believe it took you so long to figure that out!" I added teasingly. His expression turned to shock. I couldn't keep looking in His eyes. I knew would be lost in their depths. I turned to face the others. Their eyes were wide. "I missed you guys so much! You should have at least visited me! Where did you guys really go? The doctors Carlisle worked with said that you guys moved to "Sunny L.A." I said with air quotes. "O.M.G.! I have like the bestest idea ever, we should all go like shopping and catch up you know!" I nearly shouted. Their eyes widened more. Shock probably, I thought. Alice squealed silently then soon saddened abruptly. Him, I thought to myself monotonously. "Gosh! You guys are like so quiet! Who died? Oh! Hmm… not the best word choice." I pursed my lips. "Who… re-died?" I said questionably.

"Yeah, I think we should get together sometime soon." Alice said shakily.

"Awesome possum!" I replied preppily. "We should like switch numbers so we can plan later cause I got a party to rock!" I said as I whipped out my cell. Alice and I switched numbers real quick. Can vampires go into shock? Everyone was STILL in a daze except Alice. "TTYL!" I said as I re-entered Nick's house. Whoosh. My held breath came out. Luckily they didn't follow me in.

What next? When would I break? I wondered. Because that… was pure agony.


End file.
